Monday, December 31, 2012

Over
the holidays heading into 2009, I decided to take a step into the unknown
leaving a very long, single company career.I called it my “reboot.”A reboot
is different from retirement.It is like
when your computer is stuck and you hit “Control-Alt-Delete” to start over
(hopefully not losing all the work you had done).After six months having a blast in Southern
California, we tried something completely different - I role that allowed me
live near family, experience NYC and test my theory on how to successfully
start international operations. Three
years later, this reboot has been achieved.

Time
for the next one.What shall it be?Leaders need to step into the unknown
periodically just as we expect of our people.We ask them to follow us to ne places.Long and comfortable careers can be a hindrance to imagination if left
unchallenged. How would you respond to your boss if she asked you the day you
returned “How do you plan to lead more effectively in 2013 than you did in
2012?”This is a question we should ask
ourselves every year at this time.My
answer is easy.I’m going to re-reboot
similar to 2009.

Are
you going to change/improve your leadership in 2013?What will you change? How will you explain
the change to your team?

Friday, December 21, 2012

We
are all guilty of it, some more often than others.Leaders must be able to step into the forefront
and be good followers. But, sometimes we disengage so much that we actually
become passengers.Those times we are uninvolved
participants going for the ride.I heard
this term from Astronaut Mike Mullane on uTube”

LiaV
Top 5 Leaders as Passenger List:

Reading your Smartphone during
meetings and presentations.

Going radio silent on topics to
avoid controversy.

Not asking clarification questions
to gain understanding.

Thinking about what you are going
to say next when the other person is still talking.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

A leader
is most vulnerable to serious mistake when they are emotionally tied to the
topic and surround themselves with people that agree with them.You know the situation, something has you
total engulfed and you absolutely know that you are right.You share the situation with a loved one and
ask their opinion.They feel your pain
and agree with your position 100%.The
problem is they are being supportive not objective!

We
recently attended The 2012 Richard Salant Lecture presented by the New Canaan
Library and hosted this year by Brian Williams (NBC Nightly News).One important topic discussed was the
fragmentation of the US news media into cable channels with different slants
and points of view.The distinguished
guest panel (David Gergen, Peter Goldmark, Jr. and Joe Scarborough) shared
their concern that this created a problem in the US where people can listen to
the “news” that matched their opinion and it stopped people from hearing things
that made them consider alternative ideas.It seemed like a reasonable hypothesis so I tried it.

This week
when I had a strong opinion on something, I continued to share the example with
trusted colleagues until I found someone who disagreed with me.Guess what happened – they were also right
and I tailored my view.

Do you
search from dissenting opinions? Do you search until you find one?Once you find one, does it typically sway
your opinion?

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